Tables & Figures — APA 7th (jpsp-tables-figures)
JPSP exhibits do heavy lifting because the paper spans many studies: readers navigate the package
through your tables and figures. JPSP asks authors to embed tables and figures in the manuscript
text, and information in tables does not count toward the word limit — so well-built exhibits
both communicate and free up words for the (capped) introduction and discussion.
When to trigger
- Building or revising tables and figures
- Summarizing results across multiple studies
- Producing the internal meta-analysis forest plot
- Formatting exhibits to the APA Publication Manual (7th edition)
What strong JPSP exhibits do
- Self-contained. Each table/figure is readable without the text: full title, variable
definitions, N, units, error bars defined, and notes explaining abbreviations and significance.
- Carry the multi-study story. A cross-study summary table (effect sizes + CIs per study)
and a forest plot for the internal meta-analysis let reviewers see convergence at a glance.
- Show effects, not just stars. Plot estimates with confidence intervals; for repeated
measures use within-subject CIs; show distributions (e.g., raincloud) where they matter.
- APA 7th formatting. APA table structure (no vertical rules), figure captions and notes, proper
statistical notation; SEM path diagrams labeled with standardized coefficients where used.
- Embedded, not appended. Place each exhibit near its first mention in the text per JPSP rule;
keep supplemental-only exhibits in the online supplement with a table of contents.
- Accessible. Colorblind-safe palettes; legible in grayscale; vector output for print.
Exhibit checklist
Execution bridge (StatsPAI / Stata MCP)
Generate exhibits from the fitted result, not by retyping numbers (the usual source of
body-vs-supplement drift). Full map: execution-with-mcp. JPSP is predominantly experimental social/personality psychology; randomization inference, mediation done right (mediate, not naive controlling-away), power, and family-wise corrections are decisive.
- Tables:
etable (multi-model columns) or did_summary_to_latex straight from the
result_id.
- Figures:
plot_from_result / enhanced_event_study_plot / event_study_table —
axis units and the SE/clustering note baked in.
- Every note names the estimator + clustering and states the effect size in
interpretable units.
See a full fitted-result → exhibit chain in the JF execution walkthrough.
Anti-patterns
- A separate, near-identical table per study with no integrative summary
- Stars-only tables; error bars whose meaning (SE vs CI vs SD) is undefined
- Figures unreadable in grayscale or to colorblind readers
- Exhibits dumped at the end instead of embedded near first mention
- Tables that duplicate the text instead of compressing it
The two exhibits every JPSP package needs
Because the paper spans studies, two integrative exhibits do disproportionate work and reviewers look for them by name:
| Exhibit |
What it must show |
Reviewer flag if missing |
| Cross-study summary table |
One row per study: N, design, key effect size, 95% CI |
"I cannot see the package converge" |
| Internal meta-analysis forest plot |
Per-study effects + pooled random-effects estimate + I² |
"Where is the integrative analysis?" |
Illustrative forest-plot row set (invented): S1 d = 0.34 [0.10, 0.58]; S2 d = 0.21 [−0.02, 0.44]; S3 d = 0.40 [0.16, 0.64]; pooled d = 0.31 [0.18, 0.45]. Plotting these together — each CI as a horizontal bar, the diamond as the pooled estimate — lets a reviewer see S2's wide interval is low power, not disconfirmation. A stars-only table hides exactly that.
Exhibit pass for Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Treat this skill as an executable review pass, not a prose hint. First lock the construct validity, study sequence, power/robustness plan, and boundary conditions; then judge whether the current manuscript answers the venue's real reader: psychology reviewers who need a theoretical construct, validated measurement, and cumulative-study logic.
- Do the pass: For every table or figure, state the estimand or object, sample or case base, uncertainty display, and one sentence the exhibit proves for the venue audience.
- Return a ledger: give
claim / evidence / risk / manuscript location rows, so the next agent can edit rather than rediscover the issue.
- Sibling guard: compare against Psychological Science for shorter general-interest findings, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin for field scope, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology for experiment-centered claims; if a sibling owns the contribution, recommend re-routing before polishing format.
- Stop condition: do not give submission-ready advice until the pack's
resources/official-source-map.md has been checked for volatile rules and the manuscript has one concrete fix for the largest venue-specific risk.
Output format
【Per-study exhibits】list (design-appropriate)
【Cross-study summary】effect-size table present? [Y/N]
【Meta-analysis figure】forest plot present? [Y/N]
【APA 7th formatting】tables/figures + notation compliant? [Y/N]
【Embedded + accessible】in-text + colorblind/grayscale-safe? [Y/N]
【Next】jpsp-writing-style
Supplementary resources
Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → Journal-of-Personality-and-Social-Psychology-Skills/skills/jpsp-tables-figures/SKILL.md
1---2name: jpsp-tables-figures3description: Use when building tables and figures for a Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP) manuscript in APA 7th edition style — embedded in the text, self-contained, and covering a multi-study package including the internal meta-analysis forest plot. Guides exhibit design; it does not generate data.4---567# Tables & Figures — APA 7th (jpsp-tables-figures)89JPSP exhibits do heavy lifting because the paper spans **many studies**: readers navigate the package10through your tables and figures. JPSP asks authors to **embed tables and figures in the manuscript11text**, and information in tables **does not count toward the word limit** — so well-built exhibits12both communicate and free up words for the (capped) introduction and discussion.1314## When to trigger1516- Building or revising tables and figures17- Summarizing results across multiple studies18- Producing the internal meta-analysis forest plot19- Formatting exhibits to the APA Publication Manual (7th edition)2021## What strong JPSP exhibits do22231. **Self-contained.** Each table/figure is readable without the text: full title, variable24 definitions, N, units, error bars defined, and notes explaining abbreviations and significance.252. **Carry the multi-study story.** A **cross-study summary table** (effect sizes + CIs per study)26 and a **forest plot** for the internal meta-analysis let reviewers see convergence at a glance.273. **Show effects, not just stars.** Plot estimates with **confidence intervals**; for repeated28 measures use within-subject CIs; show distributions (e.g., raincloud) where they matter.294. **APA 7th formatting.** APA table structure (no vertical rules), figure captions and notes, proper30 statistical notation; SEM path diagrams labeled with standardized coefficients where used.315. **Embedded, not appended.** Place each exhibit near its first mention in the text per JPSP rule;32 keep supplemental-only exhibits in the online supplement with a table of contents.336. **Accessible.** Colorblind-safe palettes; legible in grayscale; vector output for print.3435## Exhibit checklist3637- [ ] Every exhibit self-contained (title, N, units, error bars, notes)38- [ ] Cross-study summary table of effect sizes + CIs39- [ ] Forest plot for the internal meta-analysis40- [ ] Effect sizes with uncertainty shown, not stars alone41- [ ] APA 7th table/figure formatting and notation42- [ ] Tables/figures embedded in text; supplements have a table of contents43- [ ] Colorblind-safe and grayscale-legible4445## Execution bridge (StatsPAI / Stata MCP)4647Generate exhibits from the fitted result, not by retyping numbers (the usual source of48body-vs-supplement drift). Full map: [`execution-with-mcp`](../../../shared-resources/empirical-methods/execution-with-mcp.md). JPSP is predominantly experimental social/personality psychology; randomization inference, mediation done right (`mediate`, not naive controlling-away), power, and family-wise corrections are decisive.4950- **Tables:** `etable` (multi-model columns) or `did_summary_to_latex` straight from the51 `result_id`.52- **Figures:** `plot_from_result` / `enhanced_event_study_plot` / `event_study_table` —53 axis units and the SE/clustering note baked in.54- **Every note** names the estimator + clustering and states the effect size in55 interpretable units.5657See a full fitted-result → exhibit chain in the [JF execution walkthrough](../../../Journal-of-Finance-Skills/resources/worked-examples/02-execution-walkthrough.md).58## Anti-patterns5960- A separate, near-identical table per study with no integrative summary61- Stars-only tables; error bars whose meaning (SE vs CI vs SD) is undefined62- Figures unreadable in grayscale or to colorblind readers63- Exhibits dumped at the end instead of embedded near first mention64- Tables that duplicate the text instead of compressing it6566## The two exhibits every JPSP package needs6768Because the paper spans studies, two integrative exhibits do disproportionate work and reviewers look for them by name:6970| Exhibit | What it must show | Reviewer flag if missing |71|---------|-------------------|---------------------------|72| Cross-study summary table | One row per study: N, design, key effect size, **95% CI** | "I cannot see the package converge" |73| Internal meta-analysis forest plot | Per-study effects + pooled random-effects estimate + I² | "Where is the integrative analysis?" |7475*Illustrative forest-plot row set* (invented): S1 d = 0.34 [0.10, 0.58]; S2 d = 0.21 [−0.02, 0.44]; S3 d = 0.40 [0.16, 0.64]; pooled d = 0.31 [0.18, 0.45]. Plotting these together — each CI as a horizontal bar, the diamond as the pooled estimate — lets a reviewer see S2's wide interval is low power, not disconfirmation. A stars-only table hides exactly that.767778## Exhibit pass for Journal of Personality and Social Psychology7980Treat this skill as an executable review pass, not a prose hint. First lock the construct validity, study sequence, power/robustness plan, and boundary conditions; then judge whether the current manuscript answers the venue's real reader: psychology reviewers who need a theoretical construct, validated measurement, and cumulative-study logic.8182- **Do the pass:** For every table or figure, state the estimand or object, sample or case base, uncertainty display, and one sentence the exhibit proves for the venue audience.83- **Return a ledger:** give `claim / evidence / risk / manuscript location` rows, so the next agent can edit rather than rediscover the issue.84- **Sibling guard:** compare against Psychological Science for shorter general-interest findings, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin for field scope, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology for experiment-centered claims; if a sibling owns the contribution, recommend re-routing before polishing format.85- **Stop condition:** do not give submission-ready advice until the pack's `resources/official-source-map.md` has been checked for volatile rules and the manuscript has one concrete fix for the largest venue-specific risk.8687## Output format8889```90【Per-study exhibits】list (design-appropriate)91【Cross-study summary】effect-size table present? [Y/N]92【Meta-analysis figure】forest plot present? [Y/N]93【APA 7th formatting】tables/figures + notation compliant? [Y/N]94【Embedded + accessible】in-text + colorblind/grayscale-safe? [Y/N]95【Next】jpsp-writing-style96```9798## Supplementary resources99100- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — papaja/apaTables, ggplot2, metafor forest plots, SEM path diagrams101- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — embedded-exhibits rule and word-count treatment102103---104105**Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `Journal-of-Personality-and-Social-Psychology-Skills/skills/jpsp-tables-figures/SKILL.md`